Every year at homecoming, Geneva College recognizes a number of alumni who have shown exceptional service to the College, community, and God. There are three specific types of awards that can be awarded: Young Alumni Award, Alumni Award, and Distinguished Service Award.  

Distinguished Service Award Recipients  

The Distinguished Service Award is presented each year to alumni of Geneva College for service above self, who embody the principles for which Geneva College stands, and whose efforts on behalf of the College, the community, and the nation have been exemplary. The award is also a means of honoring alumni for demonstrating Geneva′s standards, mission, and commitment to servant-leadership.  

This year, the following alumni are awarded this honor: Adel (Gallagher) Aiken ‘75, Randy Buckwalter ‘80, and Steve Warden ‘81. 

Adel (Gallagher) Aiken, daughter of A.U. and Alma Gallagher, graduated from Geneva with highest honors in 1975, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. After taking Mrs. Braun’s class, Teaching of Reading, she knew that she wanted to learn more about reading methods. Upon graduation, she enrolled in the MEd in Reading program at Westminster College. In the same year, she began her teaching career at South Side Elementary School where she was a reading specialist for intermediate grades. Teaching was so very rewarding, but when she and her husband welcomed their first child in 1978, Adel decided to transition to working part time at Laughlin Children’s Center in Sewickley. For eight years, she worked there with children who were having difficulty learning to read. At this juncture, she knew that she needed to know still more about teaching children to read. A doctoral degree at the University of Pittsburgh was calling her name.  

At the same time, Geneva College was calling her name. Dr. David Harvey, chair of the Education Department, and Dr. Romaine Jesky-Smith ’74, professor, invited her to supervise student teachers and teach a class in summer school. This, along with motherhood energized her! With three children and a fourth on the way, doctoral work had to be postponed, but in 2000, Adel graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and continued to teach many different courses dealing with literacy at Geneva for 37 years, retiring as the chair of the Education Department in 2023.  

While on the faculty, Adel created an MEd program in reading and served as the graduate program director. This involved planning a children’s summer reading camp which became well-respected in the community. Another joy was bringing to fruition a dream — a dedicated classroom for education majors so that students could profit from seeing a model elementary classroom while they were taking methods classes. With a love for her students, she reactivated and advised the Geneva Student Education Association, served as a Discipleship Group leader, and was a faculty advisor for several students’ research projects. Chair of the Faculty Senate, faculty mentor, and Chapel Leadership Team member were a few more titles that found her serving in new and different capacities. Adel was honored by her students and colleagues with the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008.  

In the community, Adel served as president of the Beaver County Reading Council, secretary of the New Brighton Education Foundation, and secretary to the executive board of the New Brighton Public Library. A life-long resident of New Brighton, she was chosen by the Historical Society as one of the Outstanding Women of New Brighton. Adel and her husband of 51 years, Bruce '10, are members of First Presbyterian Church, Beaver, where she is an elder and Sunday School teacher. They have four children, all graduates of Geneva College: Curtis '04, Marti ‘04, Karen ‘06, and Christy ‘10. Their children have blessed them with nine fantastic grandchildren: Laney, Logan, Miles, Grace, Abigail, Hope, Theodore, Roman, and Matthew. To God be the glory! 

Randy Buckwalter graduated from Geneva College with the class of 1980, which is celebrating its 45th reunion this weekend. While he enjoyed many aspects of his time at Geneva, the most significant outcome of his Geneva stay was meeting his future wife, Tammie Ward ’79, and marrying her one month after his graduation. Since then, Randy and Tammie have been blessed with 45 years of marriage and have two children and five grandchildren. Their daughter and her husband are ’08 Geneva graduates. 

During his senior year at Geneva, Randy took on a part-time job at local radio station WBVP/WWKS, starting as an overnight announcer on weekends, which was in line with his desired career path and his bachelor’s degree in an independent major in broadcasting. On the actual day of graduation, Randy was offered a full-time position, working the 3-10 p.m. shift. A year later, he moved into news, which resulted in more traditional working hours and where he developed his writing abilities. He also was part of the award-winning WBVP sports team that broadcast hundreds of high school and college football and basketball games. Randy worked his way up to program director before losing his job at the station after six years. 

At the time, Tammie was pregnant with their first child, so the job loss seemed even more daunting. They had established roots in the Beaver Falls area, settling in Chippewa and becoming very active at Chippewa United Presbyterian Church, teaching Sunday School, participating in kids’ programs, and leading the high school youth group. 

Despite the connections they had made, their desire always was to return to the Philadelphia area where Randy spent his childhood. This was 1986, so when he lost his job, Randy started his job search by scanning the classified ads in various newspapers. He ultimately was hired by the former Harleysville Insurance to serve on their corporate communications team.  

This led to a period of significant professional growth for Randy as he transitioned his radio experience into the realm of corporate communications and public relations. 

While with the insurance company, he became more involved in church and community leadership roles. At first, they attended Supplee Presbyterian Church, which was the church of his youth, ultimately being ordained as a ruling elder under the same pastor who had come to the church when Randy was only 12 years old. Working with this pastor provided a great opportunity for him to hone his church leadership skills. From a professional perspective, this time also included becoming involved with the local United Way, Boys and Girls Club, and YMCA, which included serving on the latter’s board of directors and marketing committee. 

After their second child was born, they felt the Lord’s calling to leave the mainstream PCUSA and join the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). That led the family to Covenant Presbyterian Church, a PCA congregation less then five minutes from their home. At Covenant, the senior pastor encouraged Randy to consider standing for election as an elder. Even though he had been an ordained elder at Supplee, it was this encouragement that really opened his eyes to the significance of the call to serve the Lord in this way. 

The family spent some 20 years at Covenant until Randy and Tammie moved south to Raleigh, NC, where — as no surprise — he was called to serve as an elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, where they’ve been worshiping and serving since 2013. The move south included a new job with a new industry. Still in a corporate communications role, but in pharmaceutical clinical research, which he did until retiring in August 2024.  

Randy and Tammie have been blessed many times over by their tenure at Geneva and they marvel at the distinctly different routes the Lord providentially used to connect them in Beaver Falls more than 45 years ago. It definitely was a God thing! 

Steven Warden graduated Magna Cum Laude from Geneva College in 1981 with a BA in biblical studies and certification in social studies. He later earned an MA in European history from Duquesne University in 1992. 

Steven grew up on Geneva's campus as a faculty brat. Most of that time was spent in either Johnson Gym or Metheny Fieldhouse playing basketball. Many students thought he was a student because he was there so often. Steven loved going to the sporting events at Geneva, especially watching Joe Petruny and Spinny Johnston since they were both around his same height at 5’4”. 

Steven was also influenced by a string of great speakers who came to Geneva, including John Gertsner, Oz Guinness, Harold Perkins, and R.C. Sproul. Their wisdom was later added to by Geneva professors such as Williard McMillon, Byron Bitar and John White. (John White was called “Uncle Jack” by Steven because he was close friends with his nephew Joel Adams. Steven often played Uncle Jack in one-v-one full court basketball games in the Fieldhouse over lunch if there was no one else for him to play against.) 

Steven has fond memories of the theatre programs put on by the College, eventually ending up on the stage working for Harry Farra and Chris Faye during his years at Geneva. Later he would direct plays, including Dirty Work on College Hill which he co-directed with Paul Kilpatrick. Paul formerly directed him in high school productions at Beaver County Christian School (BCCS). Both Paul and Shirley Kilpatrick moved from BCCS to Geneva and served long and distinguished careers. Besides theatre, Steven loved going to Dr. Norman Carson's Friday night movies put on in SE 115. Carson introduced him to many great directors and helped him to create a love for good films.  

Upon graduating in 1981, he taught history and Bible at BCCS. He created a number of the courses and also led students on weeklong trips to Rome and Paris. His principal, Ralph Phillips, was a big influence on his life. He still picks up any trash that he sees in the building because he remembered seeing him do that. 

Steven coached soccer and basketball for too many years to remember, and was hired by his college soccer coach to be an assistant to him on Geneva’s men's soccer team. When his former coach retired, Steven assisted new coach Dave Murray. He learned much about soccer, being a leader, coaching, and challenging young men from Dave, who was a whirlwind of ideas, fun, challenges and activity. Steven utilized what he learned from Dave when he began coaching for Geneva’s women’s soccer team for three years and the BCCS girls basketball team for another 12 years. 

Steven has taught at BCCS for over 40 years since 1981 and should finish up this coming spring. He has lived in a world of ideas, sports, young people and most of all the kingdom of our Lord. His father, James Warden, who taught in the education department for 40 years or so, moved their family to Beaver Falls so that his children could afford to go to college. Four of his children graduated from Geneva and all five spent some time studying here. Steven hopes that he has been able to influence others to love some of the things that he loves — especially the world of ideas, most especially the Christian ideas of C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.  

In 2016, he married a fellow Geneva grad, Lori Woodling ‘89. She already had a large and loving family and Steven has enjoyed the challenges and rewards that go along with the endeavor as Lori patiently teaches him about family life.